resolutions are made weather at united changing policy or the transportation adopting new regulations, or if congress decides to debate and force new laws on the airlines. i will be covering that. what i can say in addition about --ted is that they are [indiscernible] >> good afternoon, as you're aware, there is news breaking about afghanistan. around 7 p.m. local time, in afghanistan, last night, the united states military use the gpu 43 weapon in afghanistan. large, powerful, and accurate weapon where we targeted caves of isis fighters that moved around freely. it made them easier to target u.s. military advisers and afghan advises the area.

the united states take the fight against isis very seriously, and in order to defeat them, we have to deny them operational space, which we did. we took off her necessary to prevent civilian casualties and collateral damage as a result. any further details, i refer you to the department of defense on that. as you may know from the schedule, the president has a 2:00 event so i will take -- i will give this kind of tight. earlier today the president the bill bringing the total number of legislation the jews he assigned it to 13. --s resolution he find today this resolution he find today would have taken away the rights of states to set their own policies for title x family planning programs. our federal system is set up to needs to beique

addressed when possible, especially with programs like this. with the bill signing, the president has retorted -- restored respect on this issue. there is an event in 2:00 where the president will be meeting with the first responders who were involved in the i-85 bridge --lapse and thank you them and thank them in addressing this situation. the bridge collapsed during rush hour on march 30. due to the rock efforts of the responders, some of whom will be here today, no lives were lost. the president is proud to host these individuals and honor their commitment to their community. this afternoon, he will head to florida for the easter holiday. that's as the preparations of are set.r egg role why we are on the topic, just to give you quick notes, we expect

more than 21,000 people to attend the easter egg role. given tots have been schools, children hospitals, and military and law enforcement families. commemorative a's will be handed out to the children attending. nearly 18,008 were ordered. that's in line with past years. the event will start at 730 with different guests in writing at -- hours anchor miscarried two-hour increments. department ofsury foreign assets control designed -- designated one entity to human rights abuses as an .ranian prisoner the individual was designated in brother of thee commander of iran and their irgc

force. the sanctions against human right of users in the presence, the time when i ran continues to the tame the including u.s. .itizens we join recent calls by human rights experts for the immediate release of all u.s. citizens unjustly detained or missing in a ransom they can return to their families. they also designated to isis facilitate ease as isis supporter in north africa, continuing our ongoing effort to disrupt the metered -- key leader ship notes. yesterday you heard from the

president himself alongside nato secretary-general about the need for a strong alliance to combat terrorism. many other serious threats as well. nikki haley yesterday, along with her counterparts voted in favor of a draft resolution to denounce the heinous chemical attack carried out by the assad regime last week. unfortunately, not surprising, russia stood in the way of the resolution. i would like to point out the extension of china on the heels expandident she and cut in causingxt and stand. secretary tillerson was in russia yesterday to meet with his counterpart and ensure that they are made fully aware the suchd states's positions

as debating isis and areas where us -- russia does not share our values. the vice president will be departing for his trip on saturday morning and his office will be providing more information later today. finally, i'm glad to announce the president will host the prime minister of italy for official working visit on the white house on april 20. they will discuss the g7 which will be hosted in italy. and the range of issues of bejewel concern. i will take some your questions, with that. >> [indiscernible] >> that is an area that is being internally discussed at this time. last few days, you see a number of policy shift from the

probably she shifts -- what should the american people make of these shifts and there are -- are there any areas that are nonnegotiable. look atcer: you can what you are referring to is a shift in a lot of ways. i saw a couple instances in respect to nato yesterday and if you look at what is happening. issuedntities are involving the president's position and, on nato, he talked about the need of countries to pay their fair share to live up to their commitments of 2% gdp. he talked about how nato needs to focus more on terrorism. have done just that and that is something he has pointed out in the first debate of september of last year. he talked about the fact that nato is moving toward what he is been calling fall -- he has been

calling for. it is not a clear and fast .tatement alone if he entity itself is moving toward a position that he articulated. that can't be proven more true in case of nato. he laid out to very clear positions that he had an issue with nato. as far back as september, he started to recognize that that institution was moving much more toward his position. the secretary-general also noted that yesterday. another institution hasn't changed at all. make of those kinds of ships? are there any policy areas that are nonnegotiable. sec. spicer: i think that there is always going to be areas where it depends on the outcome. in the case of nato, is the most illustrative.

where he wanted to see nato in particular but it is moving exactly in the direction he said it was buried in increasing the participation of other countries and having a greater focus on terrorism. that was reinforced by the secretary-general himself when he was here. when you look at these issues and you look at the direction they are moving, they are moving in a direction where the president has stated very clearly. john. bomb -- gbu 433 bomb. why did you choose this do yoular location and think this will be used again? , i would refer you to the department of defense on specific. >> you mentioned what we see it as a win in the security council, i'm curious to believe why you think it is a win.

the resolution did not pass. what is happening at the security council, which gave the ofen light, you had all five the members voted yes. why you think this is a win when not all five members of the security council voted yet. where russia was blocking it. china and cut expand our in terms of approximate location history with it -- russia read easier breakaway with russia aligning itself with a position that is not only with the u.s. but with the rest of the world. that is a natural position they might have taken in the past. secondly, china's extension is a win for the president. he went down and had discussions all the president and you saw, heard his remarks about how he walked through. it really shows the success of

the trip. secondly, if it continues to show how russia is isolated on this matter. for really was a huge win the united states and for the persuasiveness of the president. >> in his remarks to us ---camera, let me direct you one of the directors talked about vision of federal government in reorganized as more agencies in some cases. he said also, that the vital plan will come not just from right wings. i believe that was his phrase. coupled with the president's statement on the xm bank, has he already received any criticism fromices of disappointment small government conservatives that the back tim strongly? leading for tax

reform. sec. spicer: i can't say i scanned all the statements but i can't say he has gotten a lot of positive feedback. as the director noted, you have a government that has not been reorganized. it has just been added to. when you look at the different number of agencies and programs throughout the government, and some cases, they do the exact same thing and are housed in a variety of agencies in the government. you have to ask yourself, is the taxpayer getting the bang for are the people intended for those services getting the best services? --ect don't mullaney wasctor mullaney's efforts a significant step. one of the points he noted was that this is something that should unite conservatives, liberals, republicans,

democrats, in an effective government. i think it is something that we can all agree on that the more that we can effectively deliver for the american citizens and the taxpayer, effective and efficient government is something we should be in line with. >> thank you sean. the ambassador at the organization of the chemical addressed, they said they used chemical weapons by russia. was the president offered proof of such truth efforts by russia? sec. spicer: was he offered? >> truth of this evidence that was happening. sec. spicer: no. >> putting in the same sense of syria, iraq, and north korea, i

think russia is being not until state but part of it. the accents of evil in this of menstruation? think it is i important to note who is russia on the side and where they stand. on whos a huge contrast is on what side of the arguments. i think it is important to notice the difference and who there with. i'm not going to go any further than to say that. >> last question. with the national hockey league playoffs just starting, will the president chair for the rangers cap's -- cavs? sec. spicer: respectfully that is not something that's we have really talked about. [laughter] understand the president is meeting with first responders this afternoon, and we wanted to

ask about the federal commitments on getting i-85 rebuilds as far as federal dollars and easing some federal regulations to get the job done quickly. sec. spicer: so a couple things on that, immediately following the tragedy that ensued, the president directed the federal highway administration to release a million dollars and we have begun to release -- work with the appropriate agencies to expedite the process. i know there are critical repairs that have to be made. not only has the initial funding helped with that, but the roads, bridges, emergency access the needs we handled, but, under emergency release efforts, there are ways to release some of that funding and the department of and highway in menstruation are probably the best way to get an answer on that. some of the funding could be expedites is -- expedited

farther than the initial promise that was done. now the president says that china is not a currency manipulator and that they are bonding well. what message does this send to the other presidents with the tough talk on china? sec. spicer: his talk was to get results for the american people. that is why he has pledged to do. grow more jobs, keep us safe. the president and the chinese president at a great meeting and they got to know each other very well. i think they have established a really good relationship, but at the end of the day, this is about developing a better situation for the american people and he had done that. >> the president told the wall street journal that the chinese president help them -- helped him realize a few things. i think of china is

the president would appreciate that. this would be great for china as well. as the president notated this morning, if china can help us to that. then great. if we can't, there -- then we will do that with our allies. >> when did he decide to abandon this, and whether toolbox tool does he have two [indiscernible] that's a complex issue and i will leave it to the president to answer that. i think the president is going to continue to make significant progress on that issue. showed what a great relationship he has with the chinese president and the results are starting to pour in. i think that is an issue in particular that the president is best to address. >> a few questions sean. about therthcoming

missile launch in syria. can you give us any background on the mob in afghanistan? was this several days in the making? was, the question president has been critical on the intelligence community heating up to his inauguration. closelyen working very on issues. has there been any change store that -- change toward and that's. i think the general is best to address the tick-tock on the issues over there. i think the u.s. forces and the departmentd of defense is best to walk to the military operations going on there. in respect to the intelligence community and the national security team, the president has put together a world-class cabinet of top-notch national security experts.

they continue to provide him the best advice to make the best decisions for this country. he continues to ride on them and director pompeii, director has continued to give them advice on best positions for the united states. >> did the president specifically authorize the ordinance? 0 -- sec. spicer: again, i will let the department of defense get into the details on that one. do you know what changes the president left to [indiscernible] sec. spicer: it is a very complex issue and i would like to get back to it, on any effort. and howou prepared

serious are you about getting money for the wall? the government is currently funded through april 28 under the continued resolution. when made clear to congress that the president's priorities are increasing military spending and security of our border. we'll continue to have conversations with congress and we are confident that they will do their job. they are ongoing. team toeave it to our continue the negotiations that they are having. >> another question on the budget, there is a proposal to whosh members of congress do not pass the spending plan. do support that congress should be punished for that? sec. spicer: i think we're making significant progress. i feel good about the momentum so i don't want to get into whether who is going to be knotty or nice.

cash -- naughty or nice. >> [indiscernible] the market follows his preferences. had you characterize that response? sec. spicer: the president has made it clear from the beginning het he is going to do what can to fight on american businesses to make sure we can help create an environment here in america where businesses grow and industries continue to hire, jobs can be coming back and living americans can give more of their hard-earned dollar. [indiscernible] sec. spicer: i think what he is , through a lot of the meetings that he has done, he is continuing to meet thingssiness leaders and

-- and find things we can do. he has taken great steps in making sure we can create a regulatory tax environment and put people back to work. i think what it will continue to do is fight on behalf of the american people. i hate to cut this short but we have 10 minutes until the president addresses. [indiscernible] [inaudible] >> shut spicer is shortening the briefing a bit. president is meeting with some of the first respondto